Exploring Umm Al Quwain

Umm Al Quwain is one of seven emirates that comprise the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The term 'emirate' compares roughly to the old term 'shiekhdom'. It is the last of the seven that I will have written about. To read about the emirates of Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah, and Sharjah, please see my posts dated February 13, 2009 (Bye Bye, Dubai?), March 6, 2009 (Exploring Abu Dhabi), April 3, 2009 (Exploring Ajman), May 8, 2009 (Exploring Fujairah), June 12,2009 (Exploring Ras Al Khaimah), and July 17, 2009 (Exploring Sharjah). It has been a fascinating and enriching journey for me.

Umm Al Quwain's population is 41,000, which makes it the least populated of the seven UAE emirates.

gowealthy.com summarized the history of Umm Al Quwain:

"The history of Umm Al Quwain dates back to remote antiquity. The name Umm Al Quwain is derived from Umm Al Quwatain, which means "Mother of two powers", a reference to the powerful seafaring tradition of this emirate.

The earliest settlements in Umm Al Quwain had strong Hellenistic traits; some of these are more than 7,000 years old. Traces of these ancient communities are still discernible in Al Dour, near the town of Umm Al Quwain.

Arrowheads and other polished flint tools have been unearthed in various sites across the UAE, including Umm Al Quwain. And pieces of Ubaid pottery have been unearthed along the shores of the emirate; all evidence obtained so far indicate that contact with Mesopotamia existed as early as the 5th millennium BC as an indigenous ceramic industry did not emerge until the 3rd century BC.

During the Bronze Age (3000 – 1300 BC), semi-nomadic tribes inhabited the region; they shifted in groups from place to place foraging for timber from the indigenous acacia for smelting copper. The metal was sent to all the prominent ports on the Gulf, Umm Al Nar being one of them. Ties with Mesopotamia were jealously maintained and consequently the trade in copper ushered in prosperity in the region.

Also during the Bronze Age, agriculture flourished, with dates being the prominent crop. Wheat, millet and other grains were also cultivated wherever there was enough water for irrigation. It is now widely believed that the climate during the period was more temperate than now. Buildings, mostly fortress towers came up in the UAE, especially in Umm Al Quwain, during the Umm Al Nar period (2500 – 2000 BC). The most common buildings associated with this era are the circular burial tombs. In Alexander the Great’s day, Hellenistic culture thrived in the Al Dour settlement in Umm Al Quwain.

Al Dour was located roughly where the town of Umm Al Quwain is now. It was an important trading port from about 200 BC to 200 AD. The site is interesting not only due to its fort and cemeteries but also because of the discovery, of a temple which has been attributed to the sun god.

The modern history of Umm Al Quwain began some 200 years ago when the Al Ali tribe moved their capital from Al Sinniyah Island to its present location in the mid 18th century, when the sweet water supply dried up.

In 1775 Sheikh Majid Al Mu’alla, founder of the ruling Al Mu’alla lineage of the Al Ali clan, established an independent sheikhdom in Umm al-Quwain. The emirate became a British protectorate on Jan 8, 1820 when the then ruler Sheikh Abdullah I signed the General Maritime Treaty with the United Kingdom. Owing to its strategic position on the way to India, Umm Al Quwain, like Ajman, Dubai, Ras Al Khaimah and Sharjah was made a salute state. And on Dec 2 1971, Sheikh Ahmad II joined the United Arab Emirates. The current ruler of Umm Al Quwain is Sheikh Rashid III bin Ahmad Al Mu’alla; he has reigned since 1981, when he succeeded his father Sheikh Ahmad II.

In the 21st century, Umm Al Quwain has made major economic and technological inroads and ranks as one of fastest developing emirates in the country."

How has the current economic crisis affected Umm Al Quwain? This question came to me as I had just read that the unemployment rate for Las Vegas is up to 13.1%. Do we have an unfortunate area of common interest with the citizens of this emirate? Unfortunately, yes.

recruitgulf.com has a page devoted to Umm Al Quwain. I clicked on each of the 30 job categories and found the following lead sentence on each of them:

"There are currently no job vacancies matching your particular criteria in Umm al-Quwain."

Let's hope that the job situation in Umm Al Quwain and Las Vegas reverses the current trend so we can both share prosperity again soon. Of course I want to expand that hope to all countries as well.

Check out the recreation. You might enjoy the emirate's Dreamland Aqua Park. If you can wait until 2015, the Umm Al Quwain Marina will be a site to see. With an expected completion date of 2011, White Bay sounds like a residential area not to miss, with "...an arrangement of 8 thousand leasehold residential units as waterfront villas, park-view villas, terraced condominiums, mid-rise apartments and townhouses...".

Can you see yourself enjoying these attractions, and chatting with local folks? I can. Such a vision makes the alleged differences between the citizens of the United States and the citizens of the United Arab Emirates seem trivial.

Forget what fearmongering politicians might want us to believe. Think for yourself. The benefits might surprise you.

Ten Wheel Drive: The Best Band Not At Woodstock

August 2009 marks the 40th anniversary of the ground-breaking festival of peace and music known as Woodstock. I was 19 years old and desperately wanted to attend, but couldn't afford it. I had recently completed my freshman year at the University of Illinois at Chicago Circle, and worked part time as a stock boy at a Montgomery Ward store at 95th and Western. It paid for my books, clothes, dating expenses, and auto insurance. Thank God I had a scholarship that covered tuition.

During the summer of 1969, I had a couple of summer classes, and worked full time stocking shelves; assembling everything from tricycles to above ground swimming pools to storage sheds to riding mowers; and moving 50 pound bags of fertilizer, all for $1.40 per hour. But I digress...

Since you've probably seen and heard numerous clips from varied Woodstock performances this month, I want to introduce you to the Best Band Not At Woodstock. But first, additional background to this story.

Two years after Woodstock, in the record department at Wards, I found, in the remaindered (marked down) section, some albums by a band called Ten Wheel Drive with Genya Ravan (TWD). What caught my eye was the jazz-rock notations on the albums' covers. I was already a huge fan of jazz-rock. Blood, Sweat, and Tears had whetted my appetite with "Spinning Wheel". (NOTE: When clicking on the songs, you will be taken to "last.fm". To listen to the original versions of the songs, click on their titles in the upper right hand portion of the web page.)

Then I played the TWD albums. Nothing prepared me for the force of this band's music. As a Chicagoan, and fan of the great jazz-rock group Chicago Transit Authority, known as simply Chicago after their first album, it pains me to say that they were bypassed in that genre by this east coast jazz-rock band.

A TWD sampler: How Long Before I'm Gone; I Am A Want Ad; House In Central Park; Eye of the Needle; Tightrope; Pulse; Stay With Me; Last of the Line; Ain't Gonna Happen.

TWD leads the jazz-rock pack thanks to remaining true to a strong jazz sound carrying the melodies; Genya Raven's powerful vocals; the brilliant arrangement of the songs; the tight horn section that won't be denied; and last, but certainly not least, the creative genius of Aram Schefrin.

I guarantee that you will either love or loathe Genya's vocal stylings (needless to say, I love her voice), but TWD is the real deal. Look for their songs on last.fm, youtube, or on ITunes. Their creative heart and soul, Aram Schefrin, recorded a series of revealing podcasts about TWD, that are still accessable on Itunes for free. The podcasts include a wide selection by Aram of TWD's songs.

In the aforementioned TWD podcasts, Aram mentions Woodstock, and how TWD was not invited. Such an omission on the part of Woodstock's organizers was a musical loss. Their appearance at Woodstock would have garnered them the publicity necessary to propel them to much greater commercial success, as well as perhaps keeping the band together for much more artistic success as well. At least we have three TWD albums with Genya (not including a so-called "Greatest Hits").

I close my eyes and imagine a duet at Woodstock with Janis Joplin and Genya Ravan, backed by Big Brother and the Holding Company and Ten Wheel Drive. Could the stage have supported such talent? It would have been electric.

Health Care Crisis - Life Expectancy by Country Tells Tale

Is the health care system in the United States the envy of the rest of the world? Check out the top 50 countries by life expectancy before you answer:

#1 = Macau (84.36); #2 = Andorra (82.51); #3 = Japan (82.12); #4 = Singapore (81.98); #5 = San Marino (81.97);
#6 = Hong Kong (81.86); #7 = Australia (81.63); #8 = Canada (81.23); #9 = France (80.98); #10 = Sweden (80.86).

#11 = Switzerland (80.85); #12 = Guernsey (80.77); #13 = Israel (80.73); #14 = Iceland (80.67); #15 = Anguilla (80.65);
#16 = Cayman Islands (80.44); #17 = Bermuda (80.43); #18 = New Zealand (80.36); #19 = Italy (80.20);
#20 = Gibraltar (80.19).

#21 = Monaco (80.09); #22 = Liechtenstein (80.06); #23 = Spain (80.05); #24 = Norway (79.95); #25 = Jersey (79.75);
#26 = Greece (79.66); #27 = Austria (79.50); #28 = Faroe Islands (79.44); #29 = Malta (79.44); #30 = Netherlands (79.40).

#31= Luxembourg (79.33); #32 = Germany (79.26); #33 = Belgium (79.22); #34 = Saint Pierre and Miquelon (79.07);
#35 = Virgin Islands (79.05); #36 = United Kingdom (79.01); #37 = Finland (78.97); #38 = Jordan (78.87);
#39 = Isle of Man (78.82); #40 = Korea, South (78.72).

#41 = European Union (78.67); #42 = Puerto Rico (78.53); #43 = Bosnia and Herzegovina (78.50);
#44 = Saint Helena (78.44); #45 = Cyprus (78.33); #46 = Denmark (78.30); #47 = Ireland (78.24); #48 = Portugal (78.21);
#49 = Wallis and Futuna (78.20); #50 = United States (78.11).

From where did these disturbing 2009 statistics originate? Was it some left-wing web site trying to distort the facts to fit an agenda?

Only if you put the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States into that category. click here to read more

The United States can do better. We need substantial health care reform now.